Video transmission apparatus, video transmission method, and program

ABSTRACT

A video transmission apparatus ( 10 ) includes: a specified-position information acquisition unit ( 110 ) that acquires specified-position information indicating a specified position in an area to be surveilled including each imaging region corresponding to each of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and a video transmission control unit ( 120 ) that selects at least one imaging apparatus from among the plurality of imaging apparatuses using imaging position information indicating a position or an imaging range of each of the plurality of imaging apparatuses and the specified-position information and transmits a video captured by the selected imaging apparatus to a video sharing apparatus that is to share the video.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/066,448 filed Jun. 27, 2018, which is a National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2016/085283 filed Nov. 29, 2016,claiming priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-256119filed Dec. 28, 2015, the entire contents of all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a technique for assisting asurveillance operation.

BACKGROUND ART

There is a demand for sharing a video captured by, for example, asurveillance camera or a wearable camera worn by a guard in order tosmoothly perform a surveillance operation.

Disclosed in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2 is an example of atechnique related to a surveillance system that uses a video capturedby, for example, a surveillance camera or a wearable camera worn by aguard. Disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 is a technique whichanalyzes the video captured by the surveillance camera to detect asuspicious person and transmits a video including the suspicious personto an information display terminal of a guard. Disclosed in thefollowing Patent Document 2 is a technique which changes priorities eachset to a plurality of cameras in a store, depending on the positionalinformation of a clerk, selects a video captured by a camera with a highpriority among the plurality of cameras, and displays the video on adisplay device of a surveillant.

RELATED DOCUMENT Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2011-018094

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2007-221693

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

In the technique disclosed in the above-described Patent Document 1, itis necessary to analyze the videos captured by the plurality of camerasin order to detect a suspicious person and a large load is likely to beapplied to an apparatus that implements a function of sharing a videoincluding a suspicious person. In the technique disclosed in theabove-described Patent Document 2, the video to be shared is selectedfrom among a plurality of videos according to the priority of thecamera. Therefore, there is a concern that a necessary video will not beshared when the video is needed.

The invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems andan object of the invention is to provide a technique for sharing anecessary video when the video is needed while preventing an increase inmachine load.

Solution to Problem

According to the invention, there is provided a video transmissionapparatus including: a specified-position information acquisition unitthat acquires specified-position information indicating a specifiedposition in an area to be surveilled including each imaging regioncorresponding to each of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and a videotransmission control unit that selects at least one imaging apparatusfrom among the plurality of imaging apparatuses using imaging positioninformation indicating a position or an imaging range of each of theplurality of imaging apparatuses and the specified-position informationand transmits a video captured by the selected imaging apparatus to avideo sharing apparatus that is to share the video.

According to the invention, there is provided a video transmissionmethod performed by a computer, the method including: acquiringspecified-position information indicating a specified position in anarea to be surveilled including each imaging region corresponding toeach of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and selecting at least oneimaging apparatus from among the plurality of imaging apparatuses usingimaging position information indicating a position or an imaging rangeof each of the plurality of imaging apparatuses and thespecified-position information and transmitting a video captured by theselected imaging apparatus to a video sharing apparatus that is to sharethe video.

According to the invention, there is provided a program that causes acomputer to function as: a specified-position information acquisitionunit that acquires specified-position information indicating a specifiedposition in an area to be surveilled including each imaging regioncorresponding to each of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and a videotransmission control unit that selects at least one imaging apparatusfrom among the plurality of imaging apparatuses using imaging positioninformation indicating a position or an imaging range of each of theplurality of imaging apparatuses and the specified-position informationand transmits a video captured by the selected imaging apparatus to avideo sharing apparatus that is to share the video.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the invention, it is possible to share a necessary videowhen the video is needed, while preventing an increase in machine load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned object, other objects, features, and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from the following preferred exampleembodiments and the following accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the functional configurationof a video transmission apparatus according to a first exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the videotransmission apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a process of the videotransmission apparatus according to the first example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a storage unit thatstores imaging position information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the process flow in which the videotransmission apparatus according to the first example embodiment selectsan imaging apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a storage unit thatstores guard position information.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the functional configurationof a video transmission apparatus according to a second exampleembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a process of the videotransmission apparatus according to the second example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the flow of a process in which a routeinformation generation unit generates guard route information.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the flow of a process of a videotransmission apparatus according to a third example embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification apparatuscarried by a guard in a fourth example embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A video transmission apparatus according to the invention transmits avideo corresponding to a specified position in an area to be surveilledto video receiving apparatuses (video sharing apparatuses) of aplurality of persons such that the video is shared by the plurality ofpersons. In each of the following example embodiments, a videotransmission apparatus according to the invention, a video transmissionmethod that is performed by a computer functioning as the videotransmission apparatus, a program that causes a computer to operate asthe video transmission apparatus according to the invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings. However, in all of thedrawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numeralsand the description thereof will not be repeated. In addition, in eachblock diagram except a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration,each block does not indicate a hardware unit, but indicates a functionalunit.

First Example Embodiment

[Functional Configuration]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the functional configurationof a video transmission apparatus 10 according to a first exampleembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the video transmission apparatus10 according to this example embodiment includes a specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110 and a video transmission control unit120.

The specified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquiresspecified-position information indicating a specified position in anarea to be surveilled, the area including each imaging regioncorresponding to each of a plurality of imaging apparatuses. The area tobe surveilled is an area that is determined to be a surveillance area ina security plan such as a so-called crowd control plan. In some cases, atemporary imaging apparatus (for example, a wearable camera that is wornby a guard or a camera that is provided in a security apparatus such asa drone) is installed in the area to be surveilled, in addition to animaging apparatus such as a surveillance camera that has been installedin the area. The videos of a plurality of regions in the area to besurveilled are captured by a plurality of different imaging apparatusesand are used for a surveillance operation. The surveillance operation inthe area to be surveilled is mainly performed according to instructionsfrom a surveillance center that controls the overall surveillanceoperation. For example, a surveillant in the surveillance centerreceives a report indicating that an unexpected situation has occurredin a certain spot from the guard performing the surveillance operationon the spot. The surveillant in the surveillance center performs aninput operation of specifying the position indicated by the report, onthe video transmission apparatus 10 or other apparatuses that areconnected to the video transmission apparatus 10 in a communicablemanner. The specified-position information acquisition unit 110 of thevideo transmission apparatus 10 acquires specified-position informationwhich is generated according to the input operation of the surveillantin the surveillance center. In addition, the specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110 may read and acquire thespecified-position information which has been generated on the basis ofa position to be closely watched, a position with a high possibility ofoccurrence of a risk (a crime or an accident), or the like and thenstored in a predetermined storage unit. However, the method of thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquiring thespecified-position information is not limited to these examples.

The video transmission control unit 120 selects at least one imagingapparatus using imaging position information indicating the position orthe imaging range of each of the plurality of imaging apparatuses andthe specified-position information. In other words, the videotransmission control unit 120 identifies and selects an imagingapparatus that captures a video related to the position indicated by thespecified-position information, on the basis of the positionalinformation (imaging position information) of the imaging apparatus. Inaddition, the video transmission control unit 120 transmits the videocaptured by the selected imaging apparatus to a video sharing apparatusthat is to share the video. The video sharing apparatus is selectedfrom, for example, a video receiving apparatus installed in thesurveillance center (an apparatus that receives the video transmittedfrom the video transmission control unit 120 and displays the video on adisplay device) and a video receiving apparatus carried by the guard.

Advantageous Effect

In this example embodiment, a spot with the high urgency and importancein surveillance is specified and an imaging apparatus that captures avideo related to the spot, that is, a video to be shared is selected. Inaddition, the video captured by the selected imaging apparatus istransmitted to the video sharing apparatus that is to share the video.Therefore, according to this example embodiment, it is possible totransmit the video with the high necessity for sharing to the videosharing apparatus when the video is needed. In addition, since only thevideo captured by the selected imaging apparatus is shared, it ispossible to reduce the amount of data of the video to be shared and toreduce a machine load.

In addition, according to this example embodiment, a video captured in aspot with the high urgency or importance is shared by the persons thatperform a surveillance operation. In a case in which the video capturedby the selected imaging apparatus is shared by the video sharingapparatus in the surveillance center, the surveillant can check theshared video and give appropriate instructions to the guard in the spot.In a case in which the video captured by the selected imaging apparatusis shared by the video sharing apparatus carried by the guard in thespot, the guard can grasp the situation in the spot by checking thevideo and thereby rapidly cope with the situation upon arriving at thespot.

Hereinafter, the video transmission apparatus 10 according to thisexample embodiment will be described in more detail.

[Hardware Configuration]

Each functional unit of the video transmission apparatus 10 may beimplemented by hardware (for example, a hard-wired electronic circuit)that implements each functional unit or a combination of hardware andsoftware (for example, a combination of an electronic circuit and aprogram controlling the electronic circuit). Hereinafter, a case inwhich each functional unit of the video transmission apparatus 10 isimplemented by a combination of hardware and software will be furtherdescribed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the videotransmission apparatus 10. The video transmission apparatus 10 includesa bus 101, a processor 102, a memory 103, a storage 104, an input/outputinterface 105, and a communication interface 106. The bus 101 is a datatransmission route for transmitting and receiving data. The processor102, the memory 103, the storage 104, the input/output interface 105,and the communication interface 106 transmit and receive data throughthe bus 101. However, a method for connecting, for example, theprocessor 102 and the like is not limited to the bus connection. Theprocessor 102 is an arithmetic processing device such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The memory103 is, for example, a random access memory (RAM) or a read only memory(ROM). The storage 104 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive(HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a memory card. The storage 104 maybe a memory such as a RAM or a ROM.

The input/output interface 105 is an interface for connecting the videotransmission apparatus 10 and an input/output device. For example, theinput/output interface 105 is connected to an input device, such as amouse or a keyboard, a display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT)display or a liquid crystal display (LCD), and a touch panel in whichthe input device and the display device are integrated with each other.However, these devices may not be connected to the input/outputinterface 105.

The communication interface 106 connects the video transmissionapparatus 10 to various networks, such as the Internet, such that thevideo transmission apparatus 10 communicates with an external apparatusthrough the network. For example, the video transmission apparatus 10 isconnected to an imaging apparatus 20, a video receiving apparatus 310 ina surveillance center 30, or a video receiving apparatus 410 of a guard40 through the network.

Here, the imaging apparatus 20 may be a fixed camera or a mobile camera.The fixed camera is, for example, a camera fixed at a predeterminedposition such as a surveillance camera. The mobile camera is, forexample, a camera that is provided in a vehicle or a security apparatus(for example, a drone) or a wearable camera that is worn by a guard or apoliceman. The mobile camera has a function of acquiring its ownpositional information (for example, a function of acquiring globalpositioning system (GPS) information or information about a base stationcovering the mobile camera in wireless communication). The mobile cameraacquires its own positional information, for example, at a predeterminedinterval and updates a storage unit (illustrated in FIG. 4 below) thatstores the positional information of each imaging apparatus, using thepositional information. With this configuration, even in a case in whicha person that wears the mobile camera or an apparatus provided with themobile camera moves to another spot, the video transmission control unit120 can grasp the imaging position information of the mobile camera,using the information in the storage unit. For the mobile camera, forexample, in a case in which a guard (fixed-position guard) that ispositioned in a predetermined spot and does not leave the spot carriesthe mobile camera, the mobile camera may not have the function ofacquiring the positional information. This is because the position ofthe mobile camera is not greatly changed. In this case, the positionalinformation of the spot in which the fixed-position guard is positionedis stored as the imaging position information.

The surveillance center 30 controls the overall surveillance operationperformed in the area to be surveilled. The video receiving apparatus310 in the surveillance center 30 can receive the video transmitted fromthe video transmission control unit 120 of the video transmissionapparatus 10 and display the video on a display device (notillustrated). The surveillant in the surveillance center 30 checks thevideo displayed on the display device and gives appropriate instructionsto the guard 40 performing a surveillance operation on the spot. Thevideo receiving apparatus 310 is installed in the surveillance center.At least one guard 40 performing a surveillance operation on the spotmay carry the video receiving apparatus 410 that receives a video fromthe video transmission apparatus 10. In this example embodiment, one orboth of the video receiving apparatus 310 and the video receivingapparatus 410 function as a “video sharing apparatus” according to theinvention.

The storage 104 stores program modules that implement the functions ofeach of the above-described processing units of the video transmissionapparatus 10. The processor 102 executes each program module toimplement the function of each processing unit corresponding to theprogram module. Here, when the processor 102 executes each programmodule, the processor 102 may read the program modules into the memory103 and then execute the program modules, or may execute the programmodules, without reading the program modules into the memory 103.

The hardware configuration of the video transmission apparatus 10 is notlimited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2. For example, eachprogram module may be stored in the memory 103. In this case, the videotransmission apparatus 10 may not include the storage 104.

Operation Example

The flow of a process performed by the video transmission apparatus 10according to this example embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the process ofthe video transmission apparatus 10 according to the first exampleembodiment.

First, the specified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquiresspecified-position information (S102). Then, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 selects an imaging apparatus 20 using thespecified-position information acquired in S102 (S104). Specifically,processes which will be described in the following examples areperformed.

First Example

The specified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquires thespecified-position information from the surveillance center 30.Specifically, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 performs anoperation of inputting the specified-position information on a mapdisplayed on the display device of the surveillance center 30. Forexample, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 specifies theposition of the area to be surveilled on the map with the mouse or thetouch panel, on the basis of a report from the guard 40 on the spot or apredetermined security plan. Then, coordinate information correspondingto the specified position is generated. The specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110 acquires the coordinate information ofthe specified position as the specified-position information.

The video transmission control unit 120 selects an imaging apparatus 20which is a generation source of the video to be shared, using thecoordinate information acquired by the specified-position informationacquisition unit 110 and the imaging position information of eachimaging apparatus. The imaging position information of each imagingapparatus is stored in a predetermined storage unit, for example, in theformat illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the storage unit thatstores the imaging position information. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4, the imaging position information is stored together with theidentification information of each imaging apparatus 20. The imagingposition information includes information indicating the position whereeach imaging apparatus 20 is present or information indicating theimaging range of each imaging apparatus 20. As illustrated in FIG. 4,the address information (for example, an internet protocol (IP) address)of the imaging apparatus 20 is further stored. The address informationis used, for example, when the video transmission control unit 120acquires a video from the imaging apparatus 20. For example, theinformation illustrated in FIG. 4 may be stored in the storage 104 ofthe video transmission apparatus 10 or a storage (not illustrated) ofanother apparatus that is connected to the video transmission apparatus10 in a communicable manner.

The video transmission control unit 120 converts the specified-positioninformation (coordinate information) acquired by the specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110, using a function that converts thepositional information of a coordinate system on the map into thepositional information of a coordinate system to which the imagingposition information belongs. Thus, the video transmission control unit120 can compare the specified-position information acquired by thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110 with the imagingposition information in the storage unit. The video transmission controlunit 120 selects an imaging apparatus 20 which is a generation source ofthe video to be shared, on the basis of the result of the comparison ofthe specified-position information with the positional information ofeach imaging apparatus 20 and the imaging position information of eachimaging apparatus 20.

The above-mentioned process will be described in more detail withreference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the flow of theselection of the imaging apparatus 20 by the video transmissionapparatus 10 according to the first example embodiment. FIG. 5illustrates a case in which the surveillant in the surveillance center30 selects a point P on the map displayed on the display device on thebasis of the reports received from the guards on the spot. In this case,the specified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquires thecoordinate information of the specified point P as thespecified-position information. The video transmission control unit 120converts the coordinates of the point P acquired by thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110, using the functionof converting the positional information of the coordinate system on themap into the positional information of the coordinate system to whichthe imaging position information belongs. Then, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 selects an imaging apparatus 20 that is present in apredetermined range having the point P as a reference point, as theimaging apparatus 20 which is a generation source of the video to beshared. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 defines a circular area A with a predetermined radiuswhich has the point P as the center, as the predetermined range. Then,the video transmission control unit 120 identifies an imaging apparatus20 of which the positional information indicated by the imaging positioninformation overlaps at least a portion of the positional information ofthe defined area A, as the imaging apparatus 20 which is a generationsource of the video to be shared. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5,the video transmission control unit 120 identifies three imagingapparatuses 20A, 20B, and 20C as the imaging apparatuses 20 which arethe generation sources of the videos to be shared. The imagingapparatuses 20A and 20C are fixed cameras, such as so-calledsurveillance cameras, and the imaging apparatus 20B is a mobile camerasuch as a wearable camera worn by a guard.

However, the invention is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG.5. The surveillant in the surveillance center 30 may not specify onepoint on the map, but instead may specify the range of the positionwhere the imaging apparatus 20 is selected. Then, the coordinateinformation (specified-position information) of the range may betransmitted to the specified-position information acquisition unit 110.In this case, the video transmission control unit 120 selects theimaging apparatus 20 which is a generation source of the video to beshared, using the specified-position information of the range specifiedby the surveillance center 30 instead of the predetermined area A. Inaddition, the specified-position information may be, for example, textdata such as an address or a zip code. In this case, thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquires thepositional information of an area indicated by the received text data onthe basis of the text data. Then, the video transmission control unit120 selects the imaging apparatus 20 which is a generation source of thevideo to be shared, on the basis of the positional information acquiredfrom the text data and the imaging position information of each imagingapparatus 20.

Second Example

The positional information of a predetermined place (for example, aplace with high surveillance priority in terms of security) may bestored as the specified-position information in a predetermined storageunit and the specified-position information acquisition unit 110 mayread the specified-position information from the storage unit. In thiscase, similarly to the first example, the imaging apparatus 20 which isa generation source of the video to be shared is identified on the basisof the specified-position information and the imaging positioninformation of each imaging apparatus 20.

Third Example

The specified-position information acquisition unit 110 may identify aplace where the probability of a risk occurring is high, on the basis ofinformation (risk prediction information) about risk (an accident or acrime) prediction in the area to be surveilled and may acquire thepositional information of the place as the specified-positioninformation. The risk prediction information is generated fromstatistical data such as the date and time when an accident or a crimeoccurred in the past in the area to be surveilled. In addition, the riskprediction information may be generated on the basis of the videocaptured by each imaging apparatus 20 by analyzing, for example, thedegree of congestion of persons or vehicles in the place in the video orthe traffic and flow rate of persons or vehicles in the place in thevideo. The specified-position information acquisition unit 110identifies a place with a risk of a predetermined level or more from therisk prediction information and acquires the positional information ofthe place as the specified-position information. Similarly to the firstexample, the video transmission control unit 120 identifies the imagingapparatus 20 which is a generation source of the video to be shared, onthe basis of the specified-position information acquired on the basis ofthe risk prediction information and the imaging position information ofeach imaging apparatus 20.

Returning to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 acquires the video captured by the imaging apparatus 20selected in S104 (S106). The video transmission control unit 120communicates with the imaging apparatus 20 selected in S104, using, forexample, the address information illustrated in FIG. 4, and acquires thevideo to be shared from the imaging apparatus 20. However, the inventionis not limited thereto. For example, the specified-position informationacquisition unit 110 may acquire the video to be shared from a storageunit that collects and manages the videos captured by each imagingapparatus 20. The storage unit may be provided in the video transmissionapparatus 10 or may be provided in another apparatus (for example, anapparatus installed in the surveillance center 30) that is connected tothe video transmission apparatus 10 in a communicable manner.Hereinafter, a case in which an apparatus installed in the surveillancecenter 30 collects and manages the videos captured by each imagingapparatus 20 will be described. In this case, when selecting the imagingapparatus 20 in S104, the video transmission control unit 120 acquiresthe identification information of the selected imaging apparatus 20.Then, the video transmission control unit 120 searches the storage unit,using the acquired identification information as a key, and acquires thevideo captured by the imaging apparatus 20 selected in S104. The videoacquired by the video transmission control unit 120 may be a video thatis acquired in real time from the imaging apparatus 20 or may be a stillimage at a certain point of time in the past or a motion picture for acertain period in the past.

Then, the video transmission control unit 120 transmits the videoacquired in S106 to the video sharing apparatus (S108). Here, it isassumed that information indicating that the video receiving apparatus310 in the surveillance center 30 is the video sharing apparatus is setin the video transmission control unit 120 in advance. In this case, thevideo transmission control unit 120 selects the video receivingapparatus 310 installed in the surveillance center 30 as the videosharing apparatus and transmits the video acquired in S106 to the videoreceiving apparatus 310.

In a case in which the guard 40 carries the video receiving apparatus410, the video transmission control unit 120 may select the videoreceiving apparatus 410 as a video sharing apparatus other than thevideo receiving apparatus 310 in the surveillance center 30. In thiscase, the video transmission control unit 120 operates as follows.First, the video transmission control unit 120 selects at least oneguard 40 from among the guards 40 that are positioned in the area to besurveilled, using guard position information indicating the position ofthe guard 40 carrying the video receiving apparatus 410 and thespecified-position information acquired in S102. Then, the videotransmission control unit 120 selects the video receiving apparatus 410carried by the selected guard 40 as the video sharing apparatus.

Specifically, the video transmission control unit 120 calculates adistance between the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation acquired in S102 and the position indicated by the guardposition information of the guard 40 and identifies guard positioninformation in which the calculated distance is equal to or less than apredetermined threshold value. The predetermined threshold value isstored in, for example, the memory 103 or the storage 104 in advance andthe video transmission control unit 120 reads the stored threshold valueand uses the threshold value. For example, the guard positioninformation is stored in the storage unit in the format illustrated inFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the storage unit thatstores the guard position information. The information of the guardillustrated in FIG. 6 may be stored in, for example, the storage 104 ofthe video transmission apparatus 10 or may be stored in a storage (notillustrated) of another apparatus that is connected to the videotransmission apparatus 10 in a communicable manner. The storage unitillustrated in FIG. 6 stores the guard position information and theaddress information (for example, an IP address) of the video receivingapparatus 410 so as to be associated with the identification informationof each guard 40.

For example, the video transmission control unit 120 can ascertainwhether or not each guard 40 carries the video receiving apparatus 410by checking whether the address information of the video receivingapparatus 410 is set. As can be seen from the example illustrated inFIG. 6, the guards 40 that are identified by ID001 and ID002 carry thevideo receiving apparatuses 410 and the guard 40 that is identified byID003 does not carry the video receiving apparatus 410. In this case,the video transmission control unit 120 acquires the guard positioninformation of the guards 40 identified by ID001 and ID002. Then, thevideo transmission control unit 120 calculates the distance between eachof the acquired guard position information items and the positionindicated by the specified-position information acquired in S102. Here,preferably, the video transmission control unit 120 calculates atemporal distance between the position indicated by thespecified-position information acquired in S102 and the positionindicated by the guard position information of the guard 40. Forexample, the video transmission control unit 120 identifies a route fromthe position indicated by the guard position information to the positionindicated by the specified-position information, using map informationcorresponding to the area to be surveilled, and calculates the estimatedtime required (temporal distance). The estimated time required can becalculated by the function of a so-called navigation apparatus. Here,the video transmission control unit 120 may estimate the degree ofcongestion of a route connecting two points on the basis of the analysisresult of a video of the route and may incorporate the degree ofcongestion into a parameter of an expression for calculating thetemporal distance.

Then, the video transmission control unit 120 compares the calculateddistance with a predetermined threshold value and identifies guardposition information in which the distance is equal to or less than thepredetermined threshold value. Then, the video transmission control unit120 selects a guard 40 corresponding to the identified guard positioninformation as an object to share the video with. Specifically, thevideo transmission control unit 120 acquires the address information ofthe video receiving apparatus 410 carried by the guard 40 correspondingto the identified guard position information to identify an object toshare the video with. Then, the video receiving apparatus 410 transmitsthe video acquired in S106 to the identified video receiving apparatus410.

In this operation example, the video captured by the imaging apparatusthat is present in the vicinity of the position indicated by thespecified-position information is shared by the surveillant in thesurveillance center 30. Here, for example, the specified-positioninformation is specified as the place where an urgent situation reportedby the guard 40 performing a surveillance operation on the spot occursor the place to be closely watched. That is, the video to be sharedmeans a video with the high urgency or importance in surveillanceoperation. Therefore, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 cancheck the video from which a situation is to be rapidly recognized orthe video to be closely watched and give appropriate instructions to theguard 40 on the spot. In addition, the guard 40 on the way to theposition indicated by the specified-position information can also sharethe video. Therefore, the guard 40 can grasp what is happening in theplace where an unexpected situation has occurred before the guard 40arrives on the spot and rapidly deal with the situation.

Modification Examples

In the above description, the video transmission apparatus 10 and theimaging apparatus 20 are separately provided. However, each function(the specified-position information acquisition unit 110 and the videotransmission control unit 120) of the video transmission apparatus 10may be incorporated into the imaging apparatus 20 (for example, asurveillance camera). In this case, each imaging apparatus illustratedin FIG. 2 is configured as a so-called intelligent camera that has eachfunction of the video transmission apparatus 10. In this case, the videotransmission apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 may not be connected.

The specified-position information acquisition unit 110 acquires thespecified-position information indicating the specified position in thearea to be surveilled. As described above, the specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110 may acquire the specified-positioninformation generated according to the input operation of thesurveillant in the surveillance center. In addition, thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110 may acquire thespecified-position information which has been generated on the basis of,for example, the position to be closely watched or the position wherethe probability of a risk (a crime or an accident) occurring is high andthen stored in the storage unit of the imaging apparatus 20.

In a case in which a predetermined relationship is established betweenthe imaging position information indicating the position of thesurveillance camera or the imaging range of the surveillance camera andthe specified-position information acquired by the specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110, the video transmission control unit120 transmits the video captured by the imaging unit to the videosharing apparatus which is an apparatus to share the video. Here, forexample, the “predetermined relationship” is that the distance which canbe calculated from the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation and the position or the range indicated by the imagingposition information is less than a predetermined threshold value (thatis, the distance between two positions that can be identified by thespecified-position information and the imaging position information isless than a predetermined distance). The video sharing apparatus isselected from the video receiving apparatus provided in the surveillancecenter or the video receiving apparatus carried by the guard. Inaddition, the video transmission control unit 120 can acquire theidentification information of a video sharing terminal (for example, thedestination address of the video sharing terminal) from, for example, aterminal in the surveillance center or the like, store theidentification information in a storage area, and identify the videosharing terminal with reference to the storage are.

In the above-described modification examples, it is possible to obtainthe same effect as described above.

Second Example Embodiment

This example embodiment has the same functional configuration andhardware configuration as the first example embodiment except thefollowing.

[Functional Configuration and Hardware Configuration]

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the functional configurationof a video transmission apparatus 10 according to a second exampleembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the video transmission apparatus10 according to this example embodiment includes a route informationgeneration unit 130, in addition to the configuration according to thefirst example embodiment. In the video transmission apparatus 10according to this example embodiment, a program for implementing thefunction of the route information generation unit 130 which will bedescribed below is further stored in the storage 104. The processor 102executes the program module to further implement the function of theroute information generation unit 130.

As described in the first example embodiment, in some cases, the videotransmission control unit 120 selects at least one guard 40 from amongthe guards 40 positioned in an area to be surveilled and identifies avideo receiving apparatus 410 of the guard 40 as the video sharingapparatus. In this example embodiment, the route information generationunit 130 generates guard route information indicating the moving routethat should be taken by the guard 40 selected by the video transmissioncontrol unit 120, on the basis of the guard position information of theselected guard 40 and the specified-position information acquired by thespecified-position information acquisition unit 110. In this exampleembodiment, the video transmission control unit 120 additionally selectsan imaging apparatus 20 whose imaging range includes the moving routethat should be taken by a guard that is selected as a guard to share avideo, using the guard route information generated by the routeinformation generation unit 130.

The video transmission control unit 120 may transmit the video capturedby the imaging apparatus 20 that has been additionally selected usingthe guard route information generated by the route informationgeneration unit 130, in association with the guard route information, tothe video sharing apparatus. The video sharing apparatus is, forexample, the video receiving apparatus 310 in the surveillance center 30or the video receiving apparatus 410 of the guard 40.

Operation Example

The flow of a process performed by the video transmission apparatus 10according to this example embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the process ofthe video transmission apparatus 10 according to the second exampleembodiment. Each process which will be described below is performed,following S106 illustrated in FIG. 3 in the first example embodiment.

First, the video transmission control unit 120 acquires the guardposition information of each guard 40 (S202). For example, the videotransmission control unit 120 may search the storage unit illustrated inFIG. 6 to acquire the guard position information of each guard 40.

Then, the video transmission control unit 120 calculates the distancefrom the position indicated by the guard position information acquiredin S202 to the position indicated by the specified-position information(S204). Then, the video transmission control unit 120 identifies a guard40 whose distance from the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value andselects the video receiving apparatus 410 carried by the guard 40 as thevideo sharing apparatus (S206). This is as described in the firstexample embodiment.

Then, the route information generation unit 130 generates information(guard route information) indicating the moving route that should betaken by the guard 40 that carries the video receiving apparatus 410selected as the video sharing apparatus (S208). First, the routeinformation generation unit 130 identifies two points corresponding tothe guard position information that can be acquired from the storageunit illustrated in FIG. 6 and the specified-position informationacquired in S102, using the two positional information items. Then, theroute information generation unit 130 generates guard route informationindicating at least one route connecting the two points, using, forexample, a navigation technique for calculating a route between twopoints on the map. Then, the video transmission control unit 120additionally selects an imaging apparatus 20 which is a generationsource of the video to be shared, on the basis of the guard routeinformation generated by the route information generation unit 130(S210). In other words, the video transmission control unit 120additionally selects an imaging apparatus whose imaging range includesthe moving route that should be taken by the guard. Here, the imagingapparatus is additionally selected for each route.

A detailed flow will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is adiagram illustrating the flow of a guard route information generationprocess of the route information generation unit 130. In FIG. 9, it isassumed that the specified-position information indicates the positionof a point P and an imaging apparatus 201 that is present in a rangerepresented by an area A is selected as the imaging apparatus 20 whichcaptures the video to be shared. In addition, in FIG. 9, it is assumedthat guards represented by reference numerals 20D and 20M are guards(fixed-position guards) that stand still in the spot and carry theimaging apparatuses 20. Furthermore, it is assumed that guardsrepresented by reference numerals 40A and 40B are, as we say, guards(patrolling guards) going around an area to be surveilled.

The route information generation unit 130 generates guard routeinformation for each guard on the basis of the coordinates(specified-position information) of the point P and the guard positioninformation of each of the guard 40A and the guard 40B. In FIG. 9, theroute information generation unit 130 generates three routes (R_(A1),R_(A2), and R_(A3)) as the moving route that should be taken by theguard 40A. In addition, the route information generation unit 130generates two routes (R_(B1) and R_(B2)) as the moving route that shouldbe taken by the guard 40B.

The video transmission control unit 120 identifies the imagingapparatuses 20 corresponding to each route (that is, having imagingregions including at least a portion of each route), using the guardroute information generated in S208 and the imaging position informationof each imaging apparatus 20. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, thevideo transmission control unit 120 identifies four imaging apparatuses(20B, 20A, 20D, and 20G) as the imaging apparatuses 20 corresponding tothe route R_(A1). In addition, the video transmission control unit 120identifies four imaging apparatuses (20C, 20F, 20E, and 20G) as theimaging apparatuses 20 corresponding to the route R_(A2). The videotransmission control unit 120 identifies four imaging apparatuses (20C,20F, 20K, and 20J) as the imaging apparatuses 20 corresponding to theroute R_(A3). The videos captured by the identified imaging apparatusesare shared by the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 or the guard40A. Similarly, the video transmission control unit 120 identifies twoimaging apparatuses (20L and 20H) as the imaging apparatuses 20corresponding to the route R_(B1). In addition, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 identifies two imaging apparatuses (20M and 20N) as theimaging apparatuses 20 corresponding to the route R_(B2). The identifiedimaging apparatuses 20 are additionally selected as the generationsource of the video to be shared. It should be noted that the videotransmission control unit 120 need not additionally select all of theimaging apparatuses on the routes. The video transmission control unit120 may specify the imaging apparatuses at a predetermined interval onthe route from the position of each guard 40 to the specified position.The interval at which the imaging apparatus is selected is determinedby, for example, the communication state of the network.

Returning to FIG. 8, the video transmission control unit 120 acquiresthe video captured by the imaging apparatus 20 additionally selected inS210 (S212). This is the same as that in the first example embodiment.Then, the video transmission control unit 120 transmits the acquiredvideo to the video sharing apparatus (S214).

Advantageous Effect

As described above, in this example embodiment, the imaging apparatus 20whose imaging region includes at least a portion of the moving routethat should be taken by the guard is additionally selected as thegeneration source of the video to be shared and the video captured bythe additionally selected imaging apparatus 20 is transmitted to thevideo sharing apparatus (the video receiving apparatus 310 in thesurveillance center 30 or the video receiving apparatus 310 of the guard40). The additionally transmitted video shows the state of at least aportion of the moving route that should be taken by the guard.Therefore, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 or the guard 40can check the additionally transmitted video to appropriately determinewhat moving route should be taken.

In S214, the video transmission control unit 120 may further transmitthe guard route information generated in S208. In this case, the videotransmission control unit 120 associates each route indicated by theguard route information with the video captured by the imaging apparatus20 additionally selected for each route in S210 and transmits the videoto the video sharing apparatus. Therefore, the surveillant in thesurveillance center 30 or the guard 40 in the spot can recognize thevideos for each route and easily organize information in determining themoving route that should be taken.

In this example embodiment, in a case in which guard route informationindicating a plurality of routes as the moving route that should betaken by the guard 40 is generated as illustrated in FIG. 9, in somecases the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 determines themoving route that should be taken by the guard 40. In this case, theroute information generation unit 130 transmits the guard routeinformation indicating the plurality of routes as the moving route thatshould be taken by the guard 40 to an apparatus provided in thesurveillance center 30. The surveillant in the surveillance center 30selects the moving route that should be taken by the guard from amongthe plurality of routes indicated by the guard route information. Here,the videos for each route may be associated with the guard routeinformation transmitted by the route information generation unit 130. Inthis case, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 can see thevideos for each route and select the moving route that should be takenby the guard. The video transmission control unit 120 receives theinformation of the selected route and selects the imaging apparatus 20corresponding to the received route. Then, the video transmissioncontrol unit 120 acquires the video captured by the selected imagingapparatus 20. Then, the video transmission control unit 120 transmitsthe acquired video to the video receiving apparatus carried by the guardidentified in S206. Then, the guard 40 carrying the video receivingapparatus selected as the video sharing apparatus can share the videofor the route specified by the surveillance center 30 and grasp thestate of the route to the destination.

Third Example Embodiment

This example embodiment has the same functional configuration andhardware configuration as the first and second example embodimentsexcept the following. Hereinafter, this example embodiment will bedescribed on the basis of the configuration according to the firstexample embodiment. A video transmission apparatus 10 according to thisexample embodiment may further include the configuration according tothe second example embodiment.

[Functional Configuration and Hardware Configuration]

The video transmission apparatus 10 according to this example embodimenthas the same configuration as the functional configuration illustratedin FIG. 1. In this example embodiment, a flow line for guiding a crowdis predetermined in an area to be surveilled. Then, a video transmissioncontrol unit 120 according to this example embodiment additionallyselects an imaging apparatus 20 whose imaging range includes a regionthat is located before the position indicated by specified-positioninformation acquired by the specified-position information acquisitionunit 110 on the flow line. In addition (or alternatively), the videotransmission control unit 120 according to this example embodimentadditionally selects an imaging apparatus 20 whose imaging rangeincludes a region that is located after the position indicated by thespecified-position information acquired by the specified-positioninformation acquisition unit 110 on the flow line.

Operation Example

The flow of a process of the video transmission apparatus 10 accordingto this example embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10.FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the flow of the process of the videotransmission apparatus 10 according to this example embodiment. In FIG.10, a point P is the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation. In FIG. 10, a line L is a flow line that is predeterminedin, for example, a security plan. The information of the flow line L isstored in the memory 103 or the storage 104 in advance. In FIG. 10, A1,A2, and A3 indicate the imaging range of an imaging apparatus 20A, theimaging range of an imaging apparatus 20B, and the imaging range of animaging apparatus 20C, respectively. Information indicating the imagingrange of each imaging apparatus 20 is stored in, for example, thestorage unit illustrated in FIG. 4.

The video transmission control unit 120 acquires the information(imaging position information) indicating the imaging ranges of theimaging apparatuses 20A, 20B, and 20B with reference to the storage unitillustrated in FIG. 4. The video transmission control unit 120 mayacquire information about the installation position of each of theimaging apparatuses 20A, 20B, and 20C as the information indicating theimaging range. Then, the video transmission control unit 120 at leastselects the imaging apparatus 20B whose imaging range includes a regionthat is located after the position (point P) indicated by thespecified-position information on the flow line L (that is, in thedirection in which the flow line L extends). The video transmissioncontrol unit 120 may further select the imaging apparatus 20C whoseimaging range includes a region that is located before the point P onthe flow line L according to conditions such as a predetermined distancefrom the point P or a predetermined number. In addition, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 10, the video transmission control unit 120 mayselect the imaging apparatus 20C instead of the imaging apparatus 20B.The video transmission control unit 120 further selects the imagingapparatus 20A whose imaging range includes a region that is locatedbefore the position (point P) indicated by the specified-positioninformation on the flow line L (that is, in a direction opposite to thedirection in which the flow line L extends). Here, the videotransmission control unit 120 selects the imaging apparatus whoseimaging range includes at least one of the regions that are locatedafter and before the point P on the flow line L.

Advantageous Effect

As described above, in this example embodiment, the imaging apparatus 20whose imaging range includes at least one of the regions that arelocated after and before the position indicated by thespecified-position information on a predetermined flow line is selectedand the video captured by the imaging apparatus 20 is shared. Here, itis considered that the regions located after and before the positionwhere an unexpected situation or the like has occurred are likely to beaffected by the unexpected situation. According to the configuration ofthis example embodiment, in a case in which an unexpected situation orthe like occurs, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 or theguard 40 in the spot can share the video captured at the position thatis likely to be affected by the unexpected situation or the like. Then,the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 or the guard 40 in thespot can appropriately determine the situation around the position wherethe unexpected situation or the like has occurred.

For example, in some cases, in a large event, a flow line for guidingparticipants in the event is predetermined. In a case in which anunexpected incident occurs in the situation that a crowd moves along thepredetermined flow line, the participants in the event might not move asexpected due to the incident and stay before the position where theincident has occurred. The staying of the participants may cause asecondary accident before the position where the unexpected incident hasoccurred. For this reason, when either one of an imaging apparatus 20whose imaging range includes a region that is located after the point Pon the flow line or an imaging apparatus 20 whose imaging range includesa region that is located before the point P on the flow line is to beselected, it is preferable to select the latter. However, the selectionof the imaging apparatus is not particularly limited. When an unexpectedincident occurs, the surveillant in the surveillance center 30 or theguard 40 in the spot can share the video captured at a position where asecondary accident is likely to occur and take appropriate measures forpreventing the secondary accident or minimizing the damage.

Fourth Example Embodiment

In the invention, a case in which not only a video captured by asurveillance camera but also a video taken by a guard in an area to besurveilled is shared is considered. A video transmission apparatus 10according to this example embodiment further has a configuration forimproving the quality of a video captured by an imaging apparatuscarried by a guard in a case in which the captured video is shared. Thisexample embodiment has the same functional configuration and hardwareconfiguration as the first to third example embodiments except thefollowing. Hereinafter, this example embodiment will be described on thebasis of the configuration according to the first example embodiment.The video transmission apparatus 10 according to this example embodimentmay further include the configurations according to the second and thirdexample embodiments.

[Functional Configuration and Hardware Configuration]

The video transmission apparatus 10 according to this example embodimenthas the same configuration as the functional configuration illustratedin FIG. 1. In this example embodiment, at least one guard 40 carries theimaging apparatus 20. In a case in which an imaging apparatus 20 carriedby the guard 40 is selected as the imaging apparatus 20 which is ageneration source of the video to be shared, a video transmissioncontrol unit 120 according to this example embodiment outputsnotification information for notifying that the video is shared to anotification apparatus carried by the guard 40.

The notification apparatus has a notification function (for example,FIG. 11) of notifying the guard 40 that the video is being shared. FIG.11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the notification apparatuscarried by the guard in the fourth example embodiment. FIG. 11illustrates an example in which a head-mounted display 50 worn by theguard 40 is used as the notification apparatus. FIG. 11 illustrates anexample in which an imaging apparatus 20 (wearable camera) is mounted onthe right shoulder of the guard 40. When the video captured by theimaging apparatus 20 illustrated in FIG. 11 is shared by the videotransmission apparatus 10, the video transmission control unit 120outputs the notification information to the notification apparatus(head-mounted display 50) of the guard 40 that carries the imagingapparatus 20. When receiving the notification information, thehead-mounted display 50 displays the notification information asrepresented by reference numeral 52 in FIG. 11. The guard 40 illustratedin FIG. 11 can see a message “the video is being shared” displayed onthe head-mounted display 50 and recognize that the video captured by theimaging apparatus 20 of the guard is currently being shared.

However, the invention is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG.11. The notification apparatus can be implemented by any device. Forexample, the notification apparatus may be an earphone that is worn inthe ear of the guard 40 or a portable terminal (for example, a tabletterminal or a smart phone) that is carried by the guard 40. Thenotification function of the notification apparatus is not particularlylimited. For example, the video transmission control unit 120 may outputinformation indicating that the video is being shared as a voice from avoice output unit of the notification apparatus. In addition, the videoreceiving apparatus 410 of the guard 40 may also have the function ofthe notification apparatus.

Advantageous Effect

As described above, according to this example embodiment, in a case inwhich the video captured by the imaging apparatus 20 carried by acertain guard 40 is shared, the video transmission control unit 120outputs the notification information to the notification apparatus wornby the guard 40. The notification information is information indicatingthat the video is currently being shared. The notification informationenables the guard 40 to recognize that the video captured by the imagingapparatus 20 of the guard 40 is currently being shared. The guard 40that has recognized that the video captured by the imaging apparatus 20of the guard 40 is currently being shared moves carefully to take thevideo required for guarding. As a result, it is possible to acquire ahigh-quality video. The video is shared by a plurality of persons,leading to accurate recognition of the situation.

Here, the video transmission control unit 120 may display the video thatis currently being shared on the notification apparatus of the guard 40.With this configuration, in a case in which there is a problem in thevideo (for example, the video is out of focus or the imaging range orthe imaging direction deviates), the guard 40 can correct the problemwhile seeing the shared video.

The example embodiments of the invention have been described withreference to the drawings. However, the example embodiments areillustrative examples of the invention. The above-described embodimentsmay be combined with each other or various configurations other than theabove-mentioned configurations may be used.

Next, an example of a reference example embodiment will be additionallydescribed.

1. A video transmission apparatus including:

a specified-position information acquisition unit that acquiresspecified-position information indicating a specified position in anarea to be surveilled including each imaging region corresponding toeach of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and

a video transmission control unit that selects at least one imagingapparatus from among the plurality of imaging apparatuses using imagingposition information indicating a position or an imaging range of eachof the plurality of imaging apparatuses and the specified-positioninformation and transmits a video captured by the selected imagingapparatus to a video sharing apparatus that is to share the video.

2. The video transmission apparatus according to 1,

wherein the video transmission control unit selects at least one guardusing guard position information indicating a position of a guard thatcarries a video receiving apparatus and the specified-positioninformation and selects the video receiving apparatus carried by theselected guard as the video sharing apparatus.

3. The video transmission apparatus according to 2,

wherein the video transmission control unit calculates a distancebetween the position indicated by the specified-position information andthe position indicated by the guard position information and selects aguard corresponding to guard position information in which thecalculated distance is equal to or less than a predetermined thresholdvalue.

4. The video transmission apparatus according to 3,

wherein the video transmission control unit calculates a temporaldistance between the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation and the position indicated by the guard positioninformation.

5. The video transmission apparatus according to any one of 2 to 4,further including:

a route information generation unit that generates guard routeinformation indicating a moving route that should be taken by theselected guard on the basis of the guard position information of theselected guard and the specified-position information, wherein the videotransmission control unit additionally selects an imaging apparatuswhose imaging range includes the moving route that should be taken bythe selected guard using the guard route information.

6. The video transmission apparatus according to 5,

wherein the video transmission control unit associates a video which iscaptured by the imaging apparatus selected using the guard routeinformation with the guard route information and transmits the video tothe video sharing apparatus.

7. The video transmission apparatus according to 5,

wherein the route information generation unit transmits the guard routeinformation indicating a plurality of routes as the moving route thatshould be taken by the guard to a surveillance center, and

the video transmission control unit receives information of a routeselected from among the plurality of routes from the surveillance centerand transmits a video which is captured by an imaging apparatus selectedusing the received information of the route to the video receivingapparatus carried by the selected guard.

8. The video transmission apparatus according to 1,

wherein the video transmission control unit selects a video receivingapparatus provided in a surveillance center as the video sharingapparatus.

9. The video transmission apparatus according to any one of 1 to 8,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled, and

the video transmission control unit selects the imaging apparatus whoseimaging range includes a region that is located before the positionindicated by the specified-position information on the flow line.

10. The video transmission apparatus according to any one of 1 to 8,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled, and

the video transmission control unit selects the imaging apparatus whoseimaging range includes a region that is located after the positionindicated by the specified-position information on the flow line.

11. The video transmission apparatus according to any one of 1 to 10,

wherein the at least one imaging apparatus is carried by at least oneguard, and

in a case in which the imaging apparatus carried by the at least oneguard is selected, the video transmission control unit outputsnotification information for notifying that a video is shared to anotification apparatus carried by the guard.

12. A video transmission method performed by a computer, the methodincluding:

acquiring specified-position information indicating a specified positionin an area to be surveilled including each imaging region correspondingto each of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and

selecting at least one imaging apparatus from among the plurality ofimaging apparatuses using imaging position information indicating aposition or an imaging range of each of the plurality of imagingapparatuses and the specified-position information and transmitting avideo captured by the selected imaging apparatus to a video sharingapparatus that is to share the video.

13. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to12, the method further including:

selecting at least one guard using guard position information indicatinga position of a guard that carries a video receiving apparatus and thespecified-position information and selecting the video receivingapparatus carried by the selected guard as the video sharing apparatus.

14. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to13, the method further including:

calculating a distance between the position indicated by thespecified-position information and a position indicated by the guardposition information and selecting a guard corresponding to the guardposition information in which the calculated distance is equal to orless than a predetermined threshold value.

15. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to14, the method further including:

calculating a temporal distance between the position indicated by thespecified-position information and the position indicated by the guardposition information.

16. The video transmission method performed by the computer according toany one of 13 to 15, the method further including:

generating guard route information indicating a moving route that shouldbe taken by the selected guard on the basis of the guard positioninformation of the selected guard and the specified-positioninformation; and

additionally selecting an imaging apparatus whose imaging range includesthe moving route that should be taken by the selected guard using theguard route information.

17. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to16, the method further including:

associating a video which is captured by the imaging apparatus selectedusing the guard route information with the guard route information andtransmitting the video to the video sharing apparatus.

18. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to16, the method further including:

transmitting the guard route information indicating a plurality ofroutes as the moving route that should be taken by the guard to asurveillance center;

receiving information of a route selected from among the plurality ofroutes from the surveillance center; and

transmitting a video which is captured by an imaging apparatus selectedusing the received information of the route to the video receivingapparatus carried by the selected guard.

19. The video transmission method performed by the computer according to12, the method further including:

selecting a video receiving apparatus provided in a surveillance centeras the video sharing apparatus.

20. The video transmission method performed by the computer according toany one of 12 to 19,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled,

the video transmission method further including selecting the imagingapparatus whose imaging range includes a region that is located beforethe position indicated by the specified-position information on the flowline.

21. The video transmission method performed by the computer according toany one of 12 to 19,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled,

the video transmission method further including selecting the imagingapparatus whose imaging range includes a region that is located afterthe position indicated by the specified-position information on the flowline.

22. The video transmission method performed by the computer according toany one of 12 to 21,

wherein the at least one imaging apparatus is carried by at least oneguard,

the video transmission method further including outputting, in a case inwhich the imaging apparatus carried by the at least one guard isselected, notification information for notifying that a video is sharedto a notification apparatus carried by the guard.

23. A program causing a computer to function as:

a specified-position information acquisition unit that acquiresspecified-position information indicating a specified position in anarea to be surveilled including each imaging region corresponding toeach of a plurality of imaging apparatuses; and

a video transmission control unit that selects at least one imagingapparatus from among the plurality of imaging apparatuses using imagingposition information indicating a position or an imaging range of eachof the plurality of imaging apparatuses and the specified-positioninformation and transmits a video captured by the selected imagingapparatus to a video sharing apparatus that is to share the video.

24. The program according to 23, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that selects at least one guard using guard position informationindicating a position of a guard that carries a video receivingapparatus and the specified-position information and selects the videoreceiving apparatus carried by the selected guard as the video sharingapparatus.

25. The program according to 24, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that calculates a distance between the position indicated by thespecified-position information and the position indicated by the guardposition information and selects a guard corresponding to the guardposition information in which the calculated distance is equal to orless than a predetermined threshold value.

26. The program according to 25, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that calculates a temporal distance between the positionindicated by the specified-position information and the positionindicated by the guard position information.

27. The program according to any one of 24 to 26, further causing thecomputer to function as:

a route information generation unit that generates guard routeinformation indicating a moving route that should be taken by theselected guard on the basis of the guard position information of theselected guard and the specified-position information; and

a unit that additionally selects an imaging apparatus whose imagingrange includes the moving route that should be taken by the selectedguard using the guard route information.

28. The program according to 27, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that associates a video which is captured by the imagingapparatus selected using the guard route information with the guardroute information and transmits the video to the video sharingapparatus.

29. The program according to 27, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that transmits the guard route information indicating a pluralityof routes as the moving route that should be taken by the guard to asurveillance center, receives information of a route selected from amongthe plurality of routes from the surveillance center, and transmits avideo which is captured by an imaging apparatus selected using thereceived information of the route to the video receiving apparatuscarried by the selected guard.

30. The program according to 23, further causing the computer tofunction as:

a unit that selects a video receiving apparatus provided in asurveillance center as the video sharing apparatus.

31. The program according to any one of 23 to 30,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled,

the program further causing the computer to function as a unit thatselects the imaging apparatus whose imaging range includes a region thatis located before the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation on the flow line.

32. The program according to any one of 23 to 30,

wherein a flow line for guiding a crowd is predetermined in the area tobe surveilled,

the program further causing the computer to function as a unit thatselects the imaging apparatus whose imaging range includes a region thatis located after the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation on the flow line.

33. The program according to any one of 23 to 32,

wherein the at least one imaging apparatus is carried by at least oneguard,

the program further causing the computer to function as a unit that, ina case in which the imaging apparatus carried by the at least one guardis selected, outputs notification information for notifying that a videois shared to a notification apparatus carried by the guard.

34. An imaging apparatus including:

an imaging unit;

a specified-position information acquisition unit that acquiresspecified-position information indicating a specified position in anarea to be surveilled; and

a video transmission control unit that, in a case in which apredetermined relationship is established between imaging positioninformation indicating a position or an imaging range of thesurveillance camera and the specified-position information, transmits avideo captured by the imaging unit to a video sharing apparatus that isto share the video.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A video transmission system comprising: atleast one memory storing instructions and flow line information whichindicates a flow line for guiding a crowd, the flow line beingpredetermined in an area including imaging regions corresponding torespective ones of a plurality of imaging apparatuses, the plurality ofimaging apparatuses including at least one mobile camera worn by aguard; at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:acquire the flow line information from the memory; acquirespecified-position information indicating a specified position in thearea; select, from among the plurality of imaging apparatuses, at leastone imaging apparatus whose imaging range includes a region that islocated before or after the position indicated by the specified-positioninformation on the flow line, using the flow line information, imagingposition information indicating a position or an imaging range of eachof the plurality of imaging apparatuses, and the specified-positioninformation; and transmit a video generated by the selected at least oneimaging apparatus to at least one video reception apparatus.
 2. Thevideo transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: receive a designation of a positionin the area, the designation being input by an operation on a map of thearea displayed on a display device; and set the designation as thespecified-position information.
 3. The video transmission systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: receive one or more images generated by one or moreimaging apparatus each of whose distance to the specified position fallswithin a predetermined distance; and transmit the video generated by theselected imaging apparatus and the one or more images.
 4. The videotransmission system according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to cause, when the at least one mobilecamera worn by the guard is selected, a notification apparatus carriedby the guard to output notification information for notifying that thevideo generated by the at least one mobile camera is being shared.
 5. Avideo transmission method comprising: acquiring flow line informationwhich indicates a flow line for guiding a crowd, the flow line beingpredetermined in an area including imaging regions corresponding torespective ones of a plurality of imaging apparatuses, the plurality ofimaging apparatuses including at least one mobile camera worn by aguard; acquiring specified-position information indicating a specifiedposition in the area; selecting, from among the plurality of imagingapparatuses, at least one imaging apparatus whose imaging range includesa region that is located before or after the position indicated by thespecified-position information on the flow line, using the flow lineinformation, imaging position information indicating a position or animaging range of each of the plurality of imaging apparatuses, and thespecified-position information; and transmitting a video generated bythe selected at least one imaging apparatus to at least one videoreception apparatus.
 6. The video transmission method according to claim5, further comprising: receiving a designation of a position in thearea, the designation being input by an operation on a map of the areadisplayed on a display device; and setting the designation as thespecified-position information.
 7. The video transmission methodaccording to claim 5, further comprising: receiving one or more imagesgenerated by one or more imaging apparatus each of whose distance to thespecified position falls within a predetermined distance; andtransmitting the video generated by the selected imaging apparatus andthe one or more images.
 8. The video transmission method according toclaim 5, further comprising causing, when the at least one mobile cameraworn by the guard is selected, a notification apparatus carried by theguard to output notification information for notifying that the videogenerated by the at least one mobile camera is being shared.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program thatcauses a computer to perform: acquiring flow line information whichindicates a flow line for guiding a crowd, the flow line beingpredetermined in an area including imaging regions corresponding torespective ones of a plurality of imaging apparatuses, the plurality ofimaging apparatuses including at least one mobile camera worn by aguard; acquiring specified-position information indicating a specifiedposition in the area; selecting, from among the plurality of imagingapparatuses, at least one imaging apparatus whose imaging range includesa region that is located before or after the position indicated by thespecified-position information on the flow line, using the flow lineinformation, imaging position information indicating a position or animaging range of each of the plurality of imaging apparatuses, and thespecified-position information; and transmitting a video generated bythe selected at least one imaging apparatus to at least one videoreception apparatus.
 10. The storage medium according to claim 9,wherein the program further causes the computer to perform: receiving adesignation of a position in the area, the designation being input by anoperation on a map of the area displayed on a display device; andsetting the designation as the specified-position information.
 11. Thestorage medium according to claim 9, wherein the program further causesthe computer to perform: receiving one or more images generated by oneor more imaging apparatus each of whose distance to the specifiedposition falls within a predetermined distance; and transmitting thevideo generated by the selected imaging apparatus and the one or moreimages.
 12. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the programfurther causes the computer to perform causing, when the at least onemobile camera worn by the guard is selected, a notification apparatuscarried by the guard to output notification information for notifyingthat the video generated by the at least one mobile camera is beingshared.